Thomas Pesket passed the second stage of his rocket into orbit

The French astronaut, who arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday, shared a snapshot of part of the rocket that took him there.

Ever since he boarded the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to join the International Space Station (ISS) where he will spend six months, Thomas Baskett has been sharing his extraordinary daily life on social media.

His last shot: the secondary of his vehicle, temporarily went into an orbit parallel to the ISS, before exiting it.

“How lucky! I flew the 2nd phase of the Falcon 9 on a path parallel to ours, but it was a little short. After a series of maneuvers, our paths were different. Thanks for the trip 👋”, the French astronaut wrote on Twitter.

Combustion in the atmosphere

Although the first phase of the rocket was recovered after a controlled descent, SpaceX was unable to do so with the second phase of its Falcon 9 rocket so that it could be used again in future missions.

So it should quickly return to the atmosphere where it will be consumed. This can sometimes lead to spectacular visions, as was done in March in the Northwest United States.